


Seems It Sometimes Rains In Southern California

by Loviatar



Category: Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: F/F, Female Homosexuality, Phoenix Wright Kink Meme, Same-Sex Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-16
Updated: 2012-10-16
Packaged: 2017-11-16 11:09:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loviatar/pseuds/Loviatar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two people travel a long way to get recognition for their love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seems It Sometimes Rains In Southern California

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic back in 2008 for the Phoenix Wright Kink Meme. I decided to dig it up and post it on here, because I'm not sure if I ever archived it anywhere. It's not exactly a pinnacle of writing - I read through it and it's kind of ham-handed and hammy - but I wanted to post it here anyway because I have fond memories of this piece.
> 
> The prompt for this, I believe, was in response to Proposition 8 going down in California. It asked for a gay marriage -themed fic, and that's all I can remember - I don't have the prompt saved anywhere anymore. I think they asked for femslash in specific.
> 
> Blatantly inspired by Vienna Teng's song "City Hall": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rikj0WMGbDU

It was an unusually gray and rainy day in California, and Lana Skye could never have been happier to see it.

The drive from Hazakurain had been long and boring, just like Iris had quietly suggested it might be. The weather didn't help: when they'd bid a temporary farewell to Bikini and the other acolytes in the morning, a thick mist had roiled over the scenery and licked the road as well with its tendrils, and the raven-haired girl had tentatively suggested staying home instead. Lana, however, managed to turn her head by reminding her that as moody as Californians seemed to be, they might change their minds on this issue again if they didn't leave this very morning. With that soft giggle the brunette so loved, Iris had clambered into the old car they'd borrowed from a family friend, and they'd set off into the pale, dismal morning.

They'd driven for miles before their first stop to pick up gas and snacks. Lana had done the driving, for Iris had never gotten a license due to her innate distrust of the world outside Hazakurain. Indeed, it was a miracle the two of them had even met -- a miracle with a dark tone. Their eyes had met briefly at the courthouse: Iris had been brought in for questioning about Elise Deauxnim's murder, Lana was reporting in for her final hours of community service for forging evidence in one of the many cases Damon Gant had been forcing her to manipulate. It had been the legendary love at first sight, or at the very least a great interest at first sight. Through their common denominator, Phoenix Wright, the two had become acquainted and more, Iris admiring Lana's courage and tenacity and Lana finding herself enamored with Iris' innocence and wanting to protect it. Disgraced as a prosecutor, Miss Skye asked to follow the shrine maiden to her home in Hazakurain, knowing she'd be unlikely to be rehired by the Prosecutor's Office due to the stigma that had been permanently branded into her public persona after the case of Bruce Goodman's murder and the tangle of deceit and blackmail that had been revealed in its wake. To her surprise, Iris let her into her home and her life... in more ways than those one would expect.

And now, they were road tripping through fickle-minded California, hoping that the journey they were making would not turn out to be useless in a few years. Though the state had always been something of a symbol of open-mindedness and tolerance, the status of same-sex marriage had fluctuated over what had become decades: for the last ten years, it had been stuck in illegal status, the state constitution phrasing marriage as an union between man and woman. And now, in early February, the hilly city of San Francisco did what it had done once before. It had rebelled against the constitution and begun to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, just like it had done years ago in a much darker time than the current. Though the proposition had not yet officially passed, it seemed inevitable now that the act would soon become legal, though one could never truly know until the subject was voted on and the ballots were counted. The moment Lana had seen that information in the morning paper, she'd taken the hand of the woman she had long since learned she loved, and asked her to marry her. Iris had replied with no hesitation.

So here they were, driving through a soft misty rainfall towards the one city on this side of the continent that would give their union official recognition, at least within the state. Hazakurain in the northeast was a good distance from San Francisco, and though they'd traveled that far to visit old friends on occasion, they'd always taken the train. Now, their vehicle of choice was a red SUV that smelled faintly of dog -- not exactly a wedding limousine, but both Lana and Iris had agreed on the fact that they didn't want this to be a massive celebration. All they wanted was recognition for what the bond between them was, not a chance to show it off to the whole world. Their friends would be informed in due time, and that was all they needed for now.

Time passed by... or so the two women felt it had to. One couldn't tell the passage of time in the car, really. The only things visible outside in the gray landscape were the faint dark outlines of trees and buildings, as well as the headlights of oncoming traffic, a sight that grew gradually more common as they approached centers of habitation and dwindled away again as they ended up in the open road. They rode in silence, albeit a comfortable one rather than tense or unnerving. After all, they both knew what was on both their minds. All they needed were the small things: a soft touch of Iris' pale hand on Lana's thigh on a straight stretch of road, a quiet meeting of souls when their gazes grazed each other as Lana stepped out of the car to fill up the tank. They'd been together for years now, and there was little need for words on a day like this.

By the time they began to reach the suburbs outside San Francisco, the fog was slowly dissipating, giving way to a light drizzle that was finally substantial enough to be called rain. The sky, though still not showing any hint of sun, was a paler gray now, suggesting the weather might still clear up for the day like the forecast had promised. The windshield wipers worked quietly as the two of them paused at a gas station for refreshments and a look at a map of the city, not wanting to get lost in a metropolis of this magnitude. Though Lana could have soldiered her way through such an event, she knew Iris would become extremely distraught if they so much as turned at the wrong corner and needed to double back, and the former prosecutor wanted nothing more than to get to the city courthouse without any unneeded stress placed on her loved one.

It took them a while to get there, and though Iris tried her best to distract herself with the latest issue of Spirit Channeling Illustrated she'd picked up at that last gas station, it was obvious to the driver that she was getting increasingly nervous from the way the braid-haired young woman kept twitching with surprise whenever the SUV glid to a halt at a red light. Though she was loathe to admit it to herself and her visage stayed as passive as it usually did when she wasn't alone with her bride-to-be (spirits, how that girl could make her lose control) Lana Skye had to admit that she was growing impatient with the traffic of the city. She'd once been used to driving in heavy traffic, but years in Hazakurain had made that experience fade away -- or perhaps it was only the fact she felt like she couldn't wait a minute more to reach their destination.

After many more minutes than either of them would have liked to spend stuck three blocks away from San Francisco City Hall, the red SUV finally turned the final corner into the parking lot. The windshield wipers were shut down, the engine's roar died away, and the two of them turned expectant gazes towards the doors. A queue of people spiralled down the side of the building and into the doorway, and though the sight of such a line should have felt discouraging, all either of them could do was smile. So many people had arrived at the courthouse -- and for the same reason as they had, to attain official documentation of their happiness. It was enough for the knowledge that they'd be standing out in the rain for hours feel like a minor discomfort instead of the major source of frustrationg they'd been mentally half prepared for. Wrapping her coat and one arm around Iris and supporting an umbrella with the other, Lana guided her fiancé towards the end of the line, smiling softly the whole way.

Though they'd known well of the relationships between their friends and acquaintances, they hadn't expected to see quite so many familiar faces in the queue. Detective Gumshoe, assisted by a beaming Maggey, was fetching food for the couples in line from nearby restaurants and grocery stores: though it was obvious nobody intended to cut in line on an occasion like this, it was a wonderful notion, and both Lana and Iris managed to thank the detective in a manner that somehow made the man blush and stutter. As the line slowly shifted towards the entrance of the building, the black-haired girl pointed out a sight that made both of them giggle quietly. Looking elated and embarrassed at once, Miles Edgeworth nibbled gingerly at a slice of pizza he held in one hand, trying to blot off the grease running down his fingers and onto his wrist with the other. Though they were some distance away and couldn't tell what conversation passed between the two figures in folding chairs, it was obvious Wright was being his usual self, taunting his companion gently with a grin that spoke of mischief but with eyes that simply said 'I adore you'. Spotting the look, Lana chanced a glance at Iris' dark eyes, and found an exhilarating combination of anxiety and joy.

Finally reaching shelter from the rain as they entered the vast lobby of the building, Lana carefully folded up the umbrella and shook it out gently. As she did so, a familiar figure passed them by: with a most peculiar but clearly pleased look on her face, Franziska von Karma greeted the two of them and exchanged a few words with the former Chief Prosecutor before leading her companion outside. Though Iris had not recognized the blue-haired woman nor the bespectacled blonde who had been with her, she'd taken enough comfort in the fact Lana seemed to know at least one of the two young ladies: she would have looked distant to any onlooker but the brunette, her eyes wandering about the lobby and taking in both the vast crowds of people and the wonderful architecture, but to Lana she looked on the verge of bursting, anxious to finally attain what they'd come here for. Gently stroking the shorter woman's rain-speckled hair, the uniformed one pressed a kiss to her pale brow, trying to assure her that she wasn't alone in her desire to get this over with.

Once they were guided into the room where the judge met with them to perform the ceremony, time seemed to fly by so fast Lana later couldn't recollect what precisely had gone on. All she could find in the recesses of her mind were small flashes -- speaking the words, signing her name and Iris signing hers, slipping a slim golden band onto a pale finger. It wasn't until she stepped out of the building and into the fading rain where the sun was finally beginning to shine through the thin veil of clouds that the world came back into focus. She saw Wright chatting with Justice and the younger of the Gavin brothers, all three looking surprisingly animated: next to Wright, with a hand slipped over the other's as if to make sure he was still there, Edgeworth spoke with his foster sister, Andrews clinging to Franziska's arm but for once not looking ashamed of it. Somewhere in the distance, the former prosecutor could hear the sound of sirens as the police attempted to calm down rioters near the building, waving signs and shouting insulting catchphrases like they could change anything at this point. If they hadn't wanted to see this happening, they could have stayed home -- it was in the legislation now, and only legal work could change the laws once more, not a demonstration outside city hall. It was not the fault of those present, trying to make the world recognize who and what they were, that some people could not open their eyes to see their joy. Pulling Iris close, Lana embraced the shorter woman, whispering sweet nothings at her before claiming her lips in a tender kiss. Even if those people managed to upturn the law once again, the memory of this day would never change.

Besides, it seemed half the Prosecutor's office was now in unions formerly not acknowledged. If there was a group of people that could secure the rights of same-sex couples for the years to come, it would be this group right here -- men and women with the courage and strength of will to stand tall through any challenge. These people had proven their strength in the face of countless adversities: the loss of loved ones, the tainting of public images, the threat of facing execution as innocents judged to be guilty. This day would forever be a ray of light in their lives, and they would soon return to tangle with the shadowy, dirty sides of the world. If this light in their lives were to be threatened, they would certainly defend it until the day they died.


End file.
